


Wolf Moon

by rachherself



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Marauders era, fairly gen unless you squint a little, moon times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 19:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachherself/pseuds/rachherself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every month, Remus transforms under the light of the moon. Every month, Sirius is there with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wolf Moon

**Author's Note:**

> From a Tumblr prompt: Wolfstar during transformations.
> 
> Gen, but if you squint a little you can read it with sexual tension, or whatever, and I encourage you to do so.

It was the night of the first full moon of the year, the aptly named wolf moon, and Sirius could tell Remus was dreading it. It was one of the longest nights, which made it that much harder for him. Sirius knew that his friend hated the moon, hated what it did to him both inside and out of the Shack, and it hurt that he couldn’t do a single thing about it. The best he’d managed was becoming an Animagus, along with James and Peter, and that seemed to help the wolf - having friends.

As he trudged down to the Willow that night (Remus had gone down an hour and a half ago), Sirius shuffled his feet, disturbing the light dusting of snow on the ground. More snow continued to fall silently in the darkness, alighting on Sirius’s hair and melting in the heat of his cigarette.

As he opened the door to the Shack at the end of the long underground tunnel, he saw Remus sitting on a spindly chair, restless fingers tapping on his knees, waiting for the moonrise.

"Wotcher, Moony," Sirius said softly. "Bout ready then? James and Pete can’t make it, they’ve got that bloody Potions essay."

Remus nodded slowly, wide eyes not leaving the window. After a second, he stood up suddenly and pulled off his jumper. “It’s soon, Sirius. Best get ready.”

As the boys undressed, Sirius couldn’t help but look at the scars covering Remus’s torso, some small and nearly invisible, and the ones from last month jagged red brands across his lightly tanned skin. He couldn’t imagine bearing those kinds of marks, or enduring the pain of their creation.

Remus eyed Sirius warily as they stood together, silently sharing the last moments before the moon rose above the Forest. As Remus began to shudder with the transformation, Sirius shifted into Padfoot and curled up in a hidden corner to wait for the wolf.

Though he knew it was painful for Remus, it was interesting to watch in the way a train wreck is interesting - horrific, but impossible to look away from. The wolf forced itself out of Remus, bones crunching and muscles tearing, claws emerging from bitten-off human fingernails and hair growing from delicate cheekbones. Padfoot watched in silence as the transformation completed itself and the wolf, sensing the presence of another canine, sniffed the air and let out a quiet, mournful howl.

As the night progressed, Padfoot and the wolf walked around the woods, the latter unusually sedate. He didn’t stop to tear open the belly of some small animal to sniff its blood, as he usually did. He didn’t try to head in the direction of Hogsmeade, either. The two simply walked, the snow growing ever deeper. The silence that surrounded them, wolf and dog, was enormous.

As the moon sank, Padfoot guided the wolf back to the Shack, eager to have Remus come back to himself in a familiar place, out of the cold and snow. As Padfoot curled himself back into his hidden niche, the first rays of sun came over the edges of the trees, reflecting blindingly off of the crisp snow, and the wolf convulsed, hair retreating back into smooth skin, bones realigning, blood beginning to flow from new wounds. And Sirius could only watch until it was over. 

"Sirius?" Remus called out weakly to his friend, who hastily shifted back into himself and went to his side. "Was I - was I all right tonight? It seemed hard this time."

Sirius shook his head. “Nah, mate, you were fine. Bit quiet, actually, couldn’t get the wolf to do anything. Just kind of walked around all night. Was like spending the day with my gran, if she was a wolf, you know?”

Remus chuckled weakly and winced, his ribs not fully settled in their places yet. “You’d better, ah, get out. Pomfrey’s due in a bit and you know she’d skin both of us alive if she knew you were here, too.” Remus waved his hand weakly in the air, gesturing to Sirius. He noticed that Remus's long eyelashes were dark and clumped with unshed tears. 

“Be a mate and get me my trousers? I’m, well. Indisposed.”

Sirius retrieved both of their clothes from his hiding spot, helping Remus dress and then dressing himself.

"Well, Moony, I guess I’ll see you later in the hospital wing," he said, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah. See you, then." Remus turned away, looking out the window at the sunrise.

Sirius, after a moment’s contemplation of the sunlight on Remus’s cheekbones, turned on his heel and walked out of the Shack. When he reached the open air beyond the Willow, he lit another cigarette and began the walk back to the castle, snow crunching under his boots.


End file.
